WATCH ABOVE: On May 3, 2016 fire ripped through Fort McMurray as 88,000 people fled for their lives. It's been three years since that terrifying day and as Kent Morrison explains, many of the homes destroyed by the fire are still not re-built.

“Lives have been destroyed. It’s easy for people to go on the media and say things are good and the rebuild is going well. It’s not going well for everybody — there are still a lot of people in Fort McMurray suffering,” Fort McMurray resident Jaime Harpe said.

“More claims are closing every day. As we approach the three-year anniversary, less than one per cent of all of those insurance claims remain open,” said Rob de Pruis, director of consumer and industry relations with the western branch of IBC.

De Pruis explained the claims that remain open are typically more complex matters that require more time, and in some cases, builders and trades are the cause for the delay.

“This wildfire event was Canada’s costliest insured event in our nation’s history,” he said. “We are not rebuilding one house. We are rebuilding entire neighbourhoods and entire communities and that takes time.”

WATCH BELOW: Here’s a look back at how the first few days of the Fort McMurray wildfire unfolded.

3:25Fort McMurray wildfire: Video timeline of events

Fort McMurray wildfire: Video timeline of events

So far, only about 37 per cent of the destroyed homes have been rebuilt. De Pruis said many people chose not to rebuild after the fire or have since moved away. But for those who remain in the community and out of their homes, the past three years haven’t been easy.

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“Three years is a long time to have your life in limbo and destroyed and it just feels like there’s no end in sight,” said Harpe, whose home was one of 86 destroyed in the Sapre Creek Estates neighbourhood near the airport.

“You’re paying on a pile of ashes every single month and you still have to pay your rent.”

People who are in a dispute with their insurance company have several options when it comes to trying to resolve the issue, according to the IBC. The insurance bureau’s dispute resolution guide can be viewed below.